LIBYA: West, U.N. Turn Up Heat on Gaddafi03/01/2011Aprille Muscara of Inter Press Service reports on recent developments in Libya's violent political conflict. Her article details the international community's response to Muammar Gaddafi from Western states and the United Nations, while highlighting the regional impact of 100,000+ Libyan refugees entering Egypt, Tunisia and Niger. The article was originally published at: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=54662.

Egypt Portal02/01/2011A guide to some of the best Internet coverage and analysis of the ongoing protests in Egypt.

British Palestinian rapper conducts a 'musical intifada'09/07/2010BBC writer, Jon Donnison, interviews Shadia Mansour, 24-year-old British Palestinian-born female rapper, who discusses her childhood influences as well as her present-day influence on West Bank youth. Mansour, sometimes referred to as the the first lady of Arabic hip hop", considers her work to be a form of "non-violent resistance."

Mantras and Maxims about Mabhouh: Analyzing An Information Overload 06/01/2010What is the real story behind Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh’s Dubai death? After understanding the Palestinian Question, Hamas and Mossad, this essay will tackle an information overload and analyze how Israel’s The Jerusalem Post, Dubai’s ­Khaleej Times and Britain’s The London Independent covered this James Bond style, January assassination. Who said what, how and why; terrorists and spies, accusations and blame, military shopping-sprees, involvement of outsiders and identity fraud.

Artist Annie Lennox Recieves Woman of Peace Award11/13/2009Annie Lennox is a famous musician that witnessed HIV awareness in Africa by Nelson Mandela. Lennox founded the SING campaign. According to the organization’s website, www.annielennoxsing.com, the goal is “To raise funds and awareness to bring about support and change.” Money raised by SING is used to raise awareness about HIV. The organization provides education for prevention as well as medical support.

Lennox was recently awarded the Woman of Peace Award in recognition of her activism and achievement through SING. According so SING’s website, Lennox has organized several performances and recordings to spread the message of “unity and empowerment” throughout the world.

SING partners with the Treatment Action Campaign to provide medical treatments and testing facilities, HIV education and prevention in Africa.

'We Screwed Up' - Clashes in Budapest09/28/2006Demonstrations began on September 17 in Hungary after a speech by the Prime Minister had been leaked, in which he said that the government lied to the people to stay in power. The protests turned violent: a group of extreme rightists and football fans besieged the public service television, burned cars and fought with the police on the streets for three nights.

Hamas Victory in the World Media02/01/2006On 27 January 2006 the Middle East woke up to a new reality. The Palestinian Elections Committee announced official results of parliamentary elections, declaring Hamas the clear winner with 76 seats in the 132-seat-strong legislative body. The victory of Hamas, which is labeled as a terrorist group by Europe and the US, caused mixed reactions in the World media.

Terrorism and International Adjudication07/18/2005In the past few years the international community has seen a rise in international terrorism, and international law has been stunned with a new problem that it has not been prepared for. Without international legislation defining what constitutes international terrorism, no alternative dispute settlement bodies are prepared to deal with such a phenomenon. This paper focuses specifically on the proliferation of international adjudicative mechanisms and whether or not this momentum can promote the creation of a new international adjudicative body to cope with the rise of international terrorism as an alternative means to the War on Terrorism.

Andijan on the 'net06/16/2005The Ferghana.ru website has posted details of 26 individual cases of murder from the May 13 massacre in Andizhan, Uzbekistan. Featuring interviews with family, friends and witnesses, the tales put a human face on a very real atrocity that the Uzbek government has written off as a battle with extremists. An excerpt:

Nepal and the Media05/09/2005As in any conflict, the media continue to play a significant role in Nepal’s struggle with the Maoist insurgents. Nepali Kamala Sarup provides perspective on the role of the media in the conflict, as well as background on the dangers journalists face in covering the story.

Bringing Down the Family04/14/2005Drawing on information and opinions of friends on the ground in Central Asia, Suleymanov comments on the recent Kyrgyzstan upheaval, its links to other recent revolutions in the region, and what is to be done to assure the change is a positive one.

Democracy in Nepal?02/23/2005The King of Nepal recently axed the country's democratically elected government. He blames the government's failure to deal with a growing Maoist insurgency, while international observers fear a cynical power grab. Nepali Kamala Sarup gives an overview of the situation.

Nukes in Iran01/18/2005If Iran goes nuclear, the rest of the world, but the Middle East in particular, will have to live with it. If diplomtaic overtures don't do the trick, is another US invasion in the offing?

The ICG offers us their views.

Stop Violence against women and girls12/08/2004The Peace and Conflict Monitor draws attention to the Amnesty International report on Women and War: Stop Violence Against Women, issued today 8 December 2004

Margaret Hassan10/19/2004The kidnappings and ritual executions in Iraq must in the end be counterprodudtive for the cause of the kidnappers. Nothing can be gained by the abduction of Margaret Hassan.

Burma: Road Map Towards a Dictatorship Democracy06/02/2004On May 17 2004, a constitutional convention was held in Rangoon by the Burmese military Junta to draft a new constitution for the country. The convention is meant as a first step to what Burma's military says is an “eventual transformation to democracy”. However, Most of the delegates to the convention were hand-picked, and a code of ethics and discipline has been distributed to all those attending, advising them not to express disloyalty to the state or discuss topics outside the official agenda dictated by the army. Foreign diplomats and human rights organizations have dismissed the gathering as a sham in the absence of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, who chose to boycott due to government's insistence that the military maintain a leading role in any future government, and after the military has refused to free NLD’S leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for non-violent activism, and other party members, who have been detained for the past year. In Eastern Burma a humanitarian crisis the world has largely ignored takes place, where up to a million people of ethnic minorities have fled their homes, fearing rape and murder by military.

Georgia: “Rose revolutions”05/20/2004Amid rising tension with the leadership of the autonomous region of Ajaria, which did not fully recognize the authority of Mr. Saakashvili, Georgia’s elected president, on March 2004 Tbilisi briefly imposes sanctions on Ajaria and closed the border. On May, Ajarian leader Aslan Abashidze, claiming that Georgian forces were about to invade, blows up bridges connecting the region with the rest of Georgia. President Saakashvili ordered Mr. Abashidze to comply with Georgian constitution and disarm his forces or face removal. After thousands took to the streets of Ajaria’s capital, demanding Aslan Abashidze to resign, Mr. Abashidze resigned and left Georgia. Elections to a new administration are expected in June.

March for Women’s Lives05/05/2004George W. Bush didn't seek office hoping to launch a new wave of the women's movement. But the president of the United States has angered so many girls and women that he has helped mobilize a national march in the United States to protect women's rights, the most large and diverse call for protecting women’s rights the US has probably ever seen.

Sudan: Another resource war?04/19/2004The world’s attention was recently attracted to the Darfur region in the west of Sudan, where the conflict has escalated in recent weeks, fearing a second Rwanda might take place. An estimated 1,000 people per week are dying in the region.

The world’s other superpower03/26/2004The millions of the world's “other superpower”, as The New York Times described popular protest, that took to the streets worldwide on March 19 and 20 on the first anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, did not only ask for the abolition of this war, or any other. The protesters asked for a culture of peace, where not only that disputes are handled peacefully, but when resources are channeled to education, health care and work and not to waging wars and maintaining occupation.

Spain: Surrendering to terror or defiance?03/18/2004Yotam ben Meir, news editor, takes a look at the wide-ranging world opinions relating to the latest terror attack in Madrid, its political aftermath, the calls for greater security and, above all, pleas to solve the root causes of international terrorism.

Haiti. To intervene or not to intervene?02/19/2004Haiti one of the poorest countries on Earth is now facing the threat of civil war again. While men, women and children die from violence or starve, doubts emerge in the international community about intervention. Is the island within US sphere of influence or does the former colonial power France have rights and responsibilities? Meanwhile Cuba worries about Haitian boat people.

Divided worlds, divided opinions02/11/2004News editor Joe Schumacher looks at the new wall that divides Palestine and Israel and breeds divisions around the world.

Is Radical Islam Inevitable in Central Asia?01/26/2004Radical groups that appeared in Central Asia in the early 1990’s, some inspired or funded by Saudi Wahhabi organisations, found only limited popular support. But further support for radicalism has resulted from the repressive policies of Central Asian governments and the lack of democracy and justice in the region.

EU defence and NATO12/15/2003 *Much to the dismay of the USA, Britain-Germany-France reveal talks about military independence from NATO. *Meanwhile Lord Roberston gets ready to leave NATO for private business (deputy chairman of Cable and Wireless), while the Secretary-General elect, foreign minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer from the Netherlands, prepares to take over.

The first piece is a report from the International Physicians Against Nuclear Weapons, which argues that as many as 55,000 deaths may have resulted from the current violent conflict in Iraq. We also note the publication of the report from the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue of their first edition of the “Small Arms and Human Security Bulletin” The third piece reports disappointing progress in Macedonia. (See also this issue’s analysis of last year’s elections in Macedonia http://www.monitor.upeace.org/innerpg.cfm?id_article=109 )

WHO ARE THE SILOVIKI?11/05/2003As Putin lunches with the Pope and his new found friend billionaire Berlusconi, the media at home and abroad are beginning to ask who are the lions beneath the Russian throne. Are the siloviki came out from the cold?

Nobel Peace Laureate 200310/20/2003Iranian lawyer, Shirin Edabi, is only the third Muslim to be awarded the Nobel following Yasser Arafat in 1994 and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1978 and is only the 11th woman

Crisis Watch09/30/2003This issue’s news round-up highlights the work done by the ‘International Crisis Group’. The (ICG) is an independent, non-profit, multinational organisation, with 90 staff members on five continents, working through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict. The ICG has just begun issuing a monthly report, summarizing their assessment of the situation in some 60 areas of actual or potential conflict.

WTO: bad news, good news09/16/2003Protesters claimed success at the Cancun WTO meeting last week because the talks collapsed without progress. News agencies claimed that the talks were a failure as no agreements were made among the representatives from 146 countries attending. Success or failure depends on the assessment of just who won and who lost.

UN stands firm in IRAQ08/25/2003In this issue we look at the reports worldwide of the bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad August 20-25, 2003, and the immediate aftermath. We find that the UN is refusing to give ground.

Nuclear Weapons08/11/2003August the 6th 2003 saw the 58th anniversary of the day the atomic bomb was launched upon the city of Hiroshima. News Roundup this week focuses on the Nuclear Age.

Children and Human Rights07/28/2003Increasingly children are in the news for all the wrong reasons. This last week or so has been no exception. Amisha Koria summarises some of the worst abuses and provides information on some of the leading web sites dealing with children and human rights issues.

Afghanistan 07/15/2003Recent events in Afghanistan demonstrate some of the problems that may be faced also in Iraq for several years to come. The opposition groups have not been suppressed, an adequate national army and police force has not yet been formed, and foreign aid is falling short of real needs.

Peace movements06/23/2003February 15 2003 saw the biggest public demonstration worldwide against the war on Iraq. Since then a large number of the organizations involved have continued to voice their concerns over the occupation of Iraq, although interests have broadened to embrace less high-profile conflict situations The following details a selection of the hundreds of organizations and their plans for helping to bring peace.

30 May - 9 June06/09/2003This week saw a common factor: the Death Penalty. From the stonings in Nigeria, the arrest of Tsvangirai (who faces possible sentencing for treason) and for human rights activists in Cuba. However on a more optimistic note, Russia stops exporting nuclear products to Iran, an African Peace Keeping force has been given the go-ahead and we see the flip side of the coin in relation to the post-war lootings in Iraq.

25 -29 May05/29/2003War and despair hangs over much of Africa; violent conflict leaves a legacy of warlordism and/or criminality from the Balkans to Afghanistan; oil and gas are mixed up in Indonesian politics; were the bombs in Morocco and Bali real al-Qaeda acts or imitators? Old Empires and New ones prepare for war: France and Britain to keep European militarism alive while US commits itself to long-term military build-up. Meanwhile determined efforts are being made to bring peace to the Sudan...

Honduras: News blackout after army ousts president01/01/1900The recent developments in Honduras have been accompanied by interrupted news broadcasts and a clamp-down on press freedom, keeping many Hondurans uninformed about what is happening in their own country and the international condemnation of the president's forced exile.